9 ways to meet people when you're traveling alone

• There are a lot of ways to meet people while traveling solo.•Going to a music festival, signing up for day trips, and volunteering in a foreign place can all ensure that you will return home with plenty of new friendships.

Solo travel may sound like a solitary experience, but the logistics of navigating foreign situations on your own naturally leads to meeting new people.

From accommodations and transportation to meals and entertainment, the opportunities to bond with other travelers or locals is built in, as long as you keep your ears piqued and your mind open. And that shared sense of searching for experiences often leads you to like-minded explorers on the same path.

After two days of hopping between city walking tours and day excursions in Ecuador, I remember thinking, "Gosh, I haven't had any 'me time.'" So I planned a spa day to the Termas de Papallactas hot springs to truly get some downtime—and of course ended up meeting the most lovely fellow tourists relaxing in the pools there too!

When I took a small group tour to Cuba in February, the itinerary seemed sparse, so I brought a blank notebook, with grand plans of filling it with my every thought. Instead, I found myself trying to squeeze in enough sleep because I hit it off so well with my fellow travelers that we were constantly going out for more Cuban rum nightcaps… and in one case, another single traveler staying in the same casa particulares and I ended up chatting for so long that we didn't get to bed until after 3 a.m. Incidentally, I did eventually pull out my notebook on the last day of the trip… to pass around the van to get everyone's e-mail addresses to keep in touch!

The beauty of solo traveling isn't just in where you leave your footsteps, it's also in the friends and connections you collect along the path. Here are 18 ways to ensure you meet people along your road to self-discovery.

Join a Free City Walking Tour

The first time I did a free walking tour was in Stockholm. I held back in the corner at first, slightly self-conscious about traveling alone. To my surprise, about 80 percent of my group was also solo travelers. In between stops, those of us who were on our own naturally chatted each other up—and by the end of the tour, four travelers and I bonded together and coordinated plans for the rest of our time in the Swedish capital.

2/

Rent a Room

Shutterstock

Whether it's reserving a room in a home through Airbnb or Couchsurfing or staying at a bed and breakfast, stay at a spot where you can engage your hosts. Locals who are willing to share their personal space are usually interested in connecting with their visitors and can also provide tips on where you might be able to meet others based on their past visitors. If there are multiple guests, talk with your fellow travelers—chances are, if you were attracted to the same accommodation, you may share other interests too

3/

Grab a Meal at the Bar

Shutterstock

A table may feel cozier after a long day of sightseeing, but a spot perched atop a restaurant's bar stool offers one of the best opportunities to meet others. Try to snag a chair alongside customers who don't seem to be in a group. The food, drinks, and restaurant's scene will provide natural icebreakers to test the waters. And if connecting with fellow diners doesn't do the trick, the bartender and waitstaff can also serve as mealtime conversation buddies.

4/

Offer to Take Photos

Shutterstock

While I was on the English-speaking guided tour of Marrakech's Koutoubia Mosque, I spotted the perfect angle of a Moroccan tiled pool that I wanted to photograph. As I was struggling to capture the scene just right, a fellow traveler who had spotted the same backdrop asked, "Do you want to get in the photo?" After we played photographer for one another, he asked where I was from—and it turned out we were both from New York and on the same group tour starting later that day.

5/

Chat Up Your Seatmates

Trapped on a long bus, train, or boat ride? That's the perfect time to get to know the others on the journey around you. While sailing the through the fjords in Norway three years ago, I met a Winston Churchill Fellow from Australia studying global education in the Nordic countries, a videographer from Spain filming Spaniards living outside the country, and a student from Chicago studying in the United Kingdom—who I've since met up with again when she visited my hometown.

6/

Take a Class

Let your interests lead you to travel companions. Maybe it's mastering the language of the country you're in through an immersion course, taking a cooking class to make an authentic dish, or learning the regional dance steps, so you can salsa or tango with the locals. Or perhaps take a hobby from back home on the road, like joining locals for a painting or yoga class.

7/

Look Up Local Meetups

The Meetup.com community has more than 20 million members in 180 countries, so there's a good chance there will be an event of interest during your visit. When I was traveling in Ecuador over Thanksgiving a couple of years ago, the site had multiple dinners posted, hosted by expatriates so that Americans could get a taste of home.

8/

Hang Out in Hotel Lounges

Jennifer Polland /Business Insider

While staying at the Kolping Wien Zentral hotel in Vienna, Austria, in 2012, my search for a strong Wi-Fi signal led me to an upstairs lounge area… where I found solo travelers had congregated. Even if there isn't a gathering of people, opt for spending downtime in a public spot, like poolside or in a courtyard, where organic conversations could match you up with friends on the road.

9/

Listen for Your Native Language

Shutterstock

Keep your ears piqued at all times for anyone speaking your language. While I was in Quito, any time I heard anyone speaking American English, I simply asked them where they were from—a natural conversation starter. I ended up befriending a pair of older travelers outside a museum who happened to be staying in my hotel and invited me out to dinner, a middle aged couple at a local craft market who were from my home state, and two young travel bloggers at the table next to me at dinner, who I still keep in touch with today.